But, after all, a good deal of petty manœuvring took place, not very creditable to the representative of a great body. M'Tavish expected the armed ship Isaac Todd, fitted out as a letter of marque, into the river daily, and in that case Astoria would have been captured as a prize, and become the property of the North-West Company without purchase; and besides, he had learned that the British Government had despatched a ship of war to cruise on the coast of the Pacific, and that she might be looked for hourly; and the moment she entered the river all the American property, as a matter of course, would have been seized as a prize. In either case, M'Tavish would have saved his bills of exchange. Under this impression he put off from time to time, under various pretences, the signing of the documents. M'Dougall and M'Kenzie, however, saw through this piece of artifice, and insisted that the business should be ratified at once. M'Tavish, however, full of commercial wiles, tried to evade and retard every step taken. M'Dougall, in the mean time, had a squadron of boats in readiness, should any suspicious vessel come in {254} sight, to transport the furs and goods up to the Wallamitte out of her reach. While matters were in this unsettled state, Mr. M'Kenzie suggested a decisive measure, which brought the negotiation to a speedy close.
M'Tavish and his party were encamped at the time within a few yards of the fort, and sheltered, as it were,
- [Footnote: Astoria, chap. 29. Astor stated that McDougal sold the entire property for
about $58,000, less the wages due the men; that beaver was sold for two dollars and otter for fifty cents a skin, both of which were at the time worth five or six dollars each in Canton, China. Altogether he considered the property worth nearly $200,000 above the sum received. Bancroft defends McDougal at length—History of Northwest Coast, ii, pp. 221-230. Admitting that the property was sold at a loss, he contends McDougal was justified in thinking Astoria could not be maintained, and that it was better to get what he could for Astor, before fort and furs were captured by a British ship-of-war.—Ed.]
